Sustainable by Design

We created a sustainability report for Old Mutual Emerging Markets that captured the heart of sustainability and showed our client’s commitment towards a better world for all.

"Mutualism arose well before the dawn of human history, and there is little doubt that as long as there is life on this planet, it will continue. Mutualism requires that we are open to the possibility of greater value emerging when we take account of others’ needs."

Old Mutual Sustainability Report 2011

Capturing the theme

mu·tu·al·ism (mych--lzm)

So, how does one capture the idea of sustainability in a single image? One that shows how, when we work together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We did it by portraying mutualism as a collection of puzzles pieces, which together form a bigger picture – one with Old Mutual at the centre.

Within the report, we used iconic examples of mutualism in nature: the bee and flower, rhino and oxpecker, clownfish and anemone, and ants and acacia. These powerful images, together with the use of shades of green throughout, conveyed how OMEM is creating symbiotic relationships not only with its environment, but with its staff and customers too.

Mutualism: The lady bug eats aphids off the flower, and sometimes the pollen, helping pollinate the flower and disperse its seed. The lady bug may lay eggs on the plant, so that when they hatch the young larvae will have a ready source of food: aphids.